Top Gear producer admits Jeremy Clarkson's 'slope' remark WAS joke about Asian man

[Estrada]

And if you turn the sound up of the Top Gear Video you can hear the Asian muttering to himself "Gweilo" meaning foreign devils.

I didn't realise they spoke Cantonese in Thailand

Get you facts correct, this video was shot in Myanmar not Thailand. In Burmah they speak over 100 languages including Sino-Tibetan and Chinese, in any case this is meant as an illustration.

What would you think the Asian was thinking to himself when he is trying to walk across a defective bridge built by white men that has an obvious slope to it?

[krisb]

Certainly not the same as being called a Jew, which I doubt anyone would find that offensive. I'm not sure what a wop is?

It's the Italian version of a slope...

It's <deleted> not wop.

<deleted> was used to describe people from Italy and Greece and even Turkey.

Still not the same as slope. That's up there with words like chink or nip for asians. A real put down.

There's a movie called <deleted> boy.

It depends if you knew the person or not and you call them <deleted>, or even how it was used in a sentance. If I said to a group of strangers look at these <deleted>!...probably beaten up I'd get.

If I said it to guys I know, would be ok.

Maybe it varies from country to country the level of offence?

[pmugghc]

And if you turn the sound up of the Top Gear Video you can hear the Asian muttering to himself "Gweilo" meaning foreign devils.

I didn't realise they spoke Cantonese in Thailand

Get you facts correct, this video was shot in Myanmar not Thailand. In Burmah they speak over 100 languages including Sino-Tibetan and Chinese, in any case this is meant as an illustration.

What would you think the Asian was thinking to himself when he is trying to walk across a defective bridge built by white men that has an obvious slope to it?

Wasn't the last part shot by the river Kok near Chiang Rai?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited April 25, 2014 by pmugghc

[watso63]

What JC said was a racist comment, whether it was made in jest or hate, it is still derogatory and unacceptable. There are many ways of expressing dislike or humour, there is no call for using racist terms. The words we use do matter, to think otherwise is to be in denial about racism and the harm it does.

Bluespunk, are you a Smurf ??? just wondering.

[Estrada]

In Australia the use the word C...NT as a term of endearment when greeting Mates.

[watso63]

Watso63,

Here's me having tae go tae the bank the day and git anithir pound coz ma last wan is nearly finished !!!

2 Sweatys (Yorkies) walking down the road. One bent down to pick up a tenner. The other one said "can I borrow it, to get my eyes tested?"

[MikeOboe57]

Certainly not the same as being called a Jew, which I doubt anyone would find that offensive. I'm not sure what a wop is?

It's the Italian version of a slope...

It's not wop.

was used to describe people from Italy and Greece and even Turkey.

Still not the same as slope. That's up there with words like chink or nip for asians. A real put down.

There's a movie called boy.

It depends if you knew the person or not and you call them , or even how it was used in a sentance. If I said to a group of strangers look at these !...probably beaten up I'd get.

If I said it to guys I know, would be ok.

Maybe it varies from country to country the level of offence?

I never thought that "deleted" was racist. I will have to remove that key from my computer keyboard. Edited April 25, 2014 by MikeOboe57

[somchaismith]

Oh, but, but wait...this the British sense of humor and wit, which we're famous for .

Not anymore. Many urban areas of UK have implemented humor from Africa and the Indian subcontinent nowadays.

Got an example?

[bigbamboo]

Oh, but, but wait...this the British sense of humor and wit, which we're famous for .

Not anymore. Many urban areas of UK have implemented humor from Africa and the Indian subcontinent nowadays.

I love African humour.

Some of those spam emails from Nigeria are hilarious!

[Stupooey]

As has been pointed out by previous posters, there are many words used casually to describe people of different races and nationalities. The question is when do these become derogatory, and therefore racist? I would contend that, apart from a few obvious exceptions such as the 'N' word, this would require an epithet such as 'stupid' or 'lazy', as the implication would then be that the person is being described as such because of their nationality or race. In the Clarkson case I would describe the term used as being inappropriate rather than offensive.

Farang is an interesting example, as it is a shortened version of the Thai term for a Frenchman being used to describe all Europeans. Direct corollaries of this would be for a European to describe a South Asian as a 'Paki' or an East Asian as a 'Nip'. The different perceptions of these terms reveals much about people's sensitivities. I for one do not object to being referred to as a farang, but would consider being called a stupid farang to be offensive and racist. But do the other two words generate the same reaction?

[thelongshoot]

Desperate old man looking for a bit more publicity...

Jeremy Clerkson is a desperate old man? Realy? The Jeremy Clerkson in his mid 50's, worth millions, fronts the most exported TV show in the world of all time, been all over the world with his mates getting paid silly money to have a laugh and do whatever he wants... You mean that guy, right? Yeh. Desperate. Personaly I pity the fool. Poor bloke.

Yes that desperate old man. Uses carefully contrived 'controversial' remarks that appeal to those who think that insulting others is a replacement for humour.

Throwing back a few Friday night beers with you must be about as fun and interesting as talking to a fried haddock.

[sustento]

Desperate old man looking for a bit more publicity...

Jeremy Clerkson is a desperate old man? Realy? The Jeremy Clerkson in his mid 50's, worth millions, fronts the most exported TV show in the world of all time, been all over the world with his mates getting paid silly money to have a laugh and do whatever he wants... You mean that guy, right? Yeh. Desperate. Personaly I pity the fool. Poor bloke.

Yes that desperate old man. Uses carefully contrived 'controversial' remarks that appeal to those who think that insulting others is a replacement for humour.

Throwing back a few Friday night beers with you must be about as fun and interesting as talking to a fried haddock.

Ditto

[sustento]

And if you turn the sound up of the Top Gear Video you can hear the Asian muttering to himself "Gweilo" meaning foreign devils.

I didn't realise they spoke Cantonese in Thailand

Get you facts correct, this video was shot in Myanmar not Thailand. In Burmah they speak over 100 languages including Sino-Tibetan and Chinese, in any case this is meant as an illustration.

What would you think the Asian was thinking to himself when he is trying to walk across a defective bridge built by white men that has an obvious slope to it?

Get your facts correct. The bridge that they built was over the River Kwai.

[Baerboxer]

Oh dear, several bitter people saying he's desperate or a has-been (on Facebook).

He's one of the highest paid people on tv, worth millions and absolutely couldn't give a fig what some bitter old nobodies think!

You are right - he's made millions out of being a racist opinionated bigot with a brand of silly schoolboy prep school humor and petulance.

Love him or hate him - you pays your money and takes your choice. With so much money, why should he care?

[Baerboxer]

As has been pointed out by previous posters, there are many words used casually to describe people of different races and nationalities. The question is when do these become derogatory, and therefore racist? I would contend that, apart from a few obvious exceptions such as the 'N' word, this would require an epithet such as 'stupid' or 'lazy', as the implication would then be that the person is being described as such because of their nationality or race. In the Clarkson case I would describe the term used as being inappropriate rather than offensive.

Farang is an interesting example, as it is a shortened version of the Thai term for a Frenchman being used to describe all Europeans. Direct corollaries of this would be for a European to describe a South Asian as a 'Paki' or an East Asian as a 'Nip'. The different perceptions of these terms reveals much about people's sensitivities. I for one do not object to being referred to as a farang, but would consider being called a stupid farang to be offensive and racist. But do the other two words generate the same reaction?

How interesting. Farang is the fruit guava which when cut open reveals a very white flesh. Many Thai's fell me that's the origin of using the word for white people. I'm not offended by it, or by being called a kwai loh by Chinese.

However, would calling someone a nigger, paki, nip, kraut, or spic be considered in the same way? I think not as they have derogatory connotations associated with them. As does slope. See the difference?

[bigbamboo]

And if you turn the sound up of the Top Gear Video you can hear the Asian muttering to himself "Gweilo" meaning foreign devils.

I didn't realise they spoke Cantonese in Thailand

Get you facts correct, this video was shot in Myanmar not Thailand. In Burmah they speak over 100 languages including Sino-Tibetan and Chinese, in any case this is meant as an illustration.

What would you think the Asian was thinking to himself when he is trying to walk across a defective bridge built by white men that has an obvious slope to it?

'The nips would have done a proper job'.......?

Only kidding my PC friends!

[watso63]

Oh dear, several bitter people saying he's desperate or a has-been (on Facebook).

He's one of the highest paid people on tv, worth millions and absolutely couldn't give a fig what some bitter old nobodies think!

You are right - he's made millions out of being a racist opinionated bigot with a brand of silly schoolboy prep school humor and petulance.

Love him or hate him - you pays your money and takes your choice. With so much money, why should he care?

I like him and even though he is a similar age and comes from the same town as me, I really don't know him well enough to label him as a " rascist opinionated bigot". What I do know is that jokes based on perceived, race, gender, occupation etc can and are often funny. As a previous poster said, a name isn't necessarily rascist without a preceeding dirty, stinking, pig of a .......in front of it. I am British, I don't particularly like being called a Brit (lazy short nickname), but then again I can handle it. In the UK people get frenzied at the word Paki (Pakistani), but not Aussie (Australian). Finally the 'N' word. Spanish word for black... Negro. The 'N' word a corruption of that. A word that black gangsta youths like to call each other with impunity because they can (as well as calling women bitches)...which is in bad taste considering the misery their forebears endured during the years of slavery.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited April 25, 2014 by watso63

[phuketandsee]

I suspect most of the anti-PC crowd here are either Brits or Aussies and therefor have never been subjected to slavery, persecution or annihilation simply because of their race. There is a world of difference between being called a pom or a mick or a jock and being called a slope or a gook or a kike.

Those that have seen "12 Years A Slave" cannot leave the movie theater without a new understanding how offensive "the N word" is to African Americans no matter how long ago the term was coined. The same is true of many other racial slurs as opposed to what are now relatively harmless nicknames even though they were originally designed to be more derogatory.

[Soutpeel]

I suspect most of the anti-PC crowd here are either Brits or Aussies and therefor have never been subjected to slavery, persecution or annihilation simply because of their race. There is a world of difference between being called a pom or a mick or a jock and being called a slope or a gook or a kike.

Those that have seen "12 Years A Slave" cannot leave the movie theater without a new understanding how offensive "the N word" is to African Americans no matter how long ago the term was coined. The same is true of many other racial slurs as opposed to what are now relatively harmless nicknames even though they were originally designed to be more derogatory.

If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then.....and there another PC term I hate African American, make your mind up

[phuketandsee]

"If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then"

You'd have to ask them that. My guess it's because they can it's their choice it is not being used as a slur by white people.

"....and there another PC term I hate African American" - ok, you're entitled to your opinion. It's their preference to be called this. By the way, do you refer to people here as Siamese?

"make your mind up" - about what?

[wilcopops]

I suspect most of the anti-PC crowd here are either Brits or Aussies and therefor have never been subjected to slavery, persecution or annihilation simply because of their race. There is a world of difference between being called a pom or a mick or a jock and being called a slope or a gook or a kike.

Those that have seen "12 Years A Slave" cannot leave the movie theater without a new understanding how offensive "the N word" is to African Americans no matter how long ago the term was coined. The same is true of many other racial slurs as opposed to what are now relatively harmless nicknames even though they were originally designed to be more derogatory.

If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then.....and there another PC term I hate African American, make your mind up

I think this peter needs to do 2 things....find out what racism is and find out what PC really is.

[watso63]

I suspect most of the anti-PC crowd here are either Brits or Aussies and therefor have never been subjected to slavery, persecution or annihilation simply because of their race. There is a world of difference between being called a pom or a mick or a jock and being called a slope or a gook or a kike.

Those that have seen "12 Years A Slave" cannot leave the movie theater without a new understanding how offensive "the N word" is to African Americans no matter how long ago the term was coined. The same is true of many other racial slurs as opposed to what are now relatively harmless nicknames even though they were originally designed to be more derogatory.

If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then.....and there another PC term I hate African American, make your mind up

Me too. Great to get lectures from "Americans" whose ancestors committed genocide to forge the good ol' US of A at the expense of those pesky "red skin savages". Get orf your laand!!!....joking, but people really do need to lighten up.

[Soutpeel]

"If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then"

You'd have to ask them that. My guess it's because they can it's their choice it is not being used as a slur by white people.

"....and there another PC term I hate African American" - ok, you're entitled to your opinion. It's their preference to be called this. By the way, do you refer to people here as Siamese?

"make your mind up" - about what?

If a term is N word is racist, its racist irrespective of who ever is using it as if we are discriminating who can use the word is being racist in itself

[Soutpeel]

I suspect most of the anti-PC crowd here are either Brits or Aussies and therefor have never been subjected to slavery, persecution or annihilation simply because of their race. There is a world of difference between being called a pom or a mick or a jock and being called a slope or a gook or a kike.

Those that have seen "12 Years A Slave" cannot leave the movie theater without a new understanding how offensive "the N word" is to African Americans no matter how long ago the term was coined. The same is true of many other racial slurs as opposed to what are now relatively harmless nicknames even though they were originally designed to be more derogatory.

If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then.....and there another PC term I hate African American, make your mind up

I think this peter needs to do 2 things....find out what racism is and find out what PC really is.

I understand more about racism dear boy than you will ever know

[watso63]

I suspect most of the anti-PC crowd here are either Brits or Aussies and therefor have never been subjected to slavery, persecution or annihilation simply because of their race. There is a world of difference between being called a pom or a mick or a jock and being called a slope or a gook or a kike.

Those that have seen "12 Years A Slave" cannot leave the movie theater without a new understanding how offensive "the N word" is to African Americans no matter how long ago the term was coined. The same is true of many other racial slurs as opposed to what are now relatively harmless nicknames even though they were originally designed to be more derogatory.

If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then.....and there another PC term I hate African American, make your mind up

I think this peter needs to do 2 things....find out what racism is and find out what PC really is.

I understand more about racism dear boy than you will ever know

The PC brigade are actually thought police fascists. Rascism is inside every human being on earth, because we all decide who we like and who we don't as individuals. If you don't like someone...for whatever reason it is up to you. It is just easy and lazy to be labelled as rascist but those doing the labelling? Look in the mirror and what do you see?

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited April 25, 2014 by watso63

[Soutpeel]

I suspect most of the anti-PC crowd here are either Brits or Aussies and therefor have never been subjected to slavery, persecution or annihilation simply because of their race. There is a world of difference between being called a pom or a mick or a jock and being called a slope or a gook or a kike.

Those that have seen "12 Years A Slave" cannot leave the movie theater without a new understanding how offensive "the N word" is to African Americans no matter how long ago the term was coined. The same is true of many other racial slurs as opposed to what are now relatively harmless nicknames even though they were originally designed to be more derogatory.

If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then.....and there another PC term I hate African American, make your mind up

I think this peter needs to do 2 things....find out what racism is and find out what PC really is.

I understand more about racism dear boy than you will ever know

The PC brigade are actually thought police fascists. Rascism is inside every human being on earth, because we all decide who we like and who we don't as individuals. If you don't like someone...for whatever reason it is up to you. It is just easy and lazy to be labelled as rascist but those doing the labelling? Look in the mirror and what do you see?

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

As I have stated to "wilcopop's" one more than one occasion, if he wishes to called me a racist he can do so, I care not a jot what's he going to do ? Send TV's PC men in black to my place in the middle of night and drag me out of bed and beat me up ?

[watso63]

I suspect most of the anti-PC crowd here are either Brits or Aussies and therefor have never been subjected to slavery, persecution or annihilation simply because of their race. There is a world of difference between being called a pom or a mick or a jock and being called a slope or a gook or a kike.

Those that have seen "12 Years A Slave" cannot leave the movie theater without a new understanding how offensive "the N word" is to African Americans no matter how long ago the term was coined. The same is true of many other racial slurs as opposed to what are now relatively harmless nicknames even though they were originally designed to be more derogatory.

If the N word is so offensive, why do they call each other the N word then.....and there another PC term I hate African American, make your mind up

I think this peter needs to do 2 things....find out what racism is and find out what PC really is.

I understand more about racism dear boy than you will ever know

The PC brigade are actually thought police fascists. Rascism is inside every human being on earth, because we all decide who we like and who we don't as individuals. If you don't like someone...for whatever reason it is up to you. It is just easy and lazy to be labelled as rascist but those doing the labelling? Look in the mirror and what do you see?

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

As I have stated to "wilcopop's" one more than one occasion, if he wishes to called me a racist he can do so, I care not a jot what's he going to do ? Send TV's PC men in black to my place in the middle of night and drag me out of bed and beat me up ?

I personally find the left wing anarchistic rent a mob anti fascist supporters of human and animal rights to be the most violent people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting...Just saying.

[Docno]

During the Vietnam war ,the "slopes" dinks and gooks and viets,japs.... were all aiming at us soldiers ,not for laughing but to kill them .( and visa versa)

Surely the slopes had some other names for us soldiers,maybe called them "falang"?

Was this racism? Not at all ,us soldiers called german soldiers "jerry",and there was no race difference at all.

So dont com crying about racism all the time !

In fact racism is a very rare fenomen ,were you really hate another race for whatever stupid reason .

99% of us wont mint to sleep with a beautiful vietnamese ,congolese,birmese,thai........so 99% is not racist.(nor were us soldiers during the war!)

So put Jeremy Clarkson in bed with some other race ladies and let him prove he is not a racist !

And let them all shut up and ban the word "racism" ,hitler is long gone and the few that think like him are hard to find .

Ummm, the Vietnam war is long over. From the time one tribe threw rocks at another, people at war have come up with derogatory terms for the enemy as part of the process of dehumanising them (easier to kill a gook than a person). But I don't think my Japanese and German friends would like be called nips or krauts today, even if those words only technically refer to a country and cabbage respectively.

My understanding was that 'slope' was a reference to Asian's eyes... hard to spin that as not being offensive. I wonder how many people coming to Clarkson's defence here are among those who are outraged by the word, farang, which just comes from the word for 'Frank' (Western European, French)....

[Stupooey]

As has been pointed out by previous posters, there are many words used casually to describe people of different races and nationalities. The question is when do these become derogatory, and therefore racist? I would contend that, apart from a few obvious exceptions such as the 'N' word, this would require an epithet such as 'stupid' or 'lazy', as the implication would then be that the person is being described as such because of their nationality or race. In the Clarkson case I would describe the term used as being inappropriate rather than offensive.

Farang is an interesting example, as it is a shortened version of the Thai term for a Frenchman being used to describe all Europeans. Direct corollaries of this would be for a European to describe a South Asian as a 'Paki' or an East Asian as a 'Nip'. The different perceptions of these terms reveals much about people's sensitivities. I for one do not object to being referred to as a farang, but would consider being called a stupid farang to be offensive and racist. But do the other two words generate the same reaction?

How interesting. Farang is the fruit guava which when cut open reveals a very white flesh. Many Thai's fell me that's the origin of using the word for white people. I'm not offended by it, or by being called a kwai loh by Chinese.

However, would calling someone a nigger, paki, nip, kraut, or spic be considered in the same way? I think not as they have derogatory connotations associated with them. As does slope. See the difference?

Conventional wisdom actually has it the other way round; when the guava was introduced to Thailand by Europeans it was given the name farang because its flesh resembled the colour of the people already being referred to as farangs. The derogatory connotations you mention are only derogatory if people choose to interpret them as such. You have chosen (as I have) not to be offended by the stand-alone word farang, but for some reason you set different standards for paki and nip, which have almost identical etymologies.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Stupooey

[expatsupreme]

BBC is loaded with cash, so is Jeremy. They can pay 1 million, I am sure Jeremy did not know about this issue, not the bbc, that is why they published it. Top Gear is my favourite show...